PLX: Winds of New Beginnings
by Aladar
Summary: Most trainers can't wait to start their journey- he got dragged out of bed by his brother to do it. Most trainers form a deep bond with their starters- he got stuck with the one that prefered taking a dip in an acid vat instead of listening to him.


_Most ten-year-olds can't wait to get their starter Pokémon. Some of them just have an annoying elder brother hell-bent on making sure they follow in his steps. Most new trainers immediately find a trusted friend and lifelong companion in the faces of their starters. Some of them are stuck with the disobedient ones that would prefer taking a dip in an acid vat instead of listening to a single command. Sometimes, the life of a trainer isn't an easy one, especially when no one actually asked you whether you wanted in all the hassle or not. Sometimes, as Arceus has it, you are just plain screwed._

_Or are you?_

* * *

_**Chapter 1:**_

_**Where Winds of New Beginnings Blow**_

New Bark Town in the Johto region.

A place with great importance to many trainers, be it for professional or purely sentimental reasons- the majority of the region's up and coming Pokémon battlers started their journey here, under the guidance of the respected Professor Elm. It was as if destiny itself had chosen to curl its magnificent wings and set roost here, in the tiny town in the shadows of the windy hills surrounding it. Indeed, Aeolus' breath, which accompanied the residents of the quaint settlement day in and day out, seemed to be the very thing that spread the sails of Faith's ship for every trainer that began their quest for glory in the town of new beginnings.

That morning in the end of March, in one of the very first days of the upcoming spring, didn't seem any different than all the other times the beams of the cheerful Sol had shined upon the small, yet bustling town. Doduo and all kinds of others of their kin signaled the beginning of a new day with their mighty voices. Just as the Bug Pokémon had started to perk up and leave their shriveled husks behind to spread their wings and fly as beautiful Butterfree or busy Beedrill, so did the residents of New Bark Town leave their homes and spread around the settlement to pursue their various goals or otherwise mundane tasks. Flocks of dozens upon dozens of Pidgey and Spearow soared high above the town and its small harbor, which brought to the land of Johto the foreign trainers that wanted to walk in the steps of the Champions of this land. And the wind generators perched upon the nearby hills, like guardians surrounding the town, just kept on spinning and spinning, not unlike the wheel of Destiny that sometimes had the curious habit of repeating itself.

Indeed, a day like any other for the residents of New Bark Town. Save for one boy that had just turned ten the week before.

"Rise and shine, sleepyhead!"

The shout itself preceded the speaker, but it took only a few seconds for him to burst through the door into the sun-filled bedroom on the second floor inside the ordinary looking two-storey house. A lone hand-made sign fell off the door and onto the floor, littered with a myriad of wrappings, socks and the occasional comic book. "_Room off limits,_ especially _if your name is Jimmy,"_ announced the piece of cardboard with bright red letters.

Said Jimmy, an overly energetic Pokémon trainer in his early teens, loomed over the younger boy that had curled tightly beneath the puffy covers of the bed. Another figure, that of a tan Pokémon who could be best described as a little boy with three horns lined atop his head, climbed up the bed and started shaking the heavy sleeper.

"I said wake up, you Snorlax," announced Jimmy with a lopsided grin and tore off the sheets from the clutches of his half-asleep brother in one swift motion. "Today is the day you get your very first Pokémon, Ethan! Today you can finally go off on your own Pokémon journey just like I did! Right, Tyrogue?"

The petite Fighting type grunted a cheerful response in his own language and made sure to point out he was going to set off on his own journey as well. Alas, Ethan wasn't quite as enthusiastic as Tyrogue or as his hot-blooded brother.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm all jittery and warm on the inside," grumbled the black-haired preteen and made a show of turning his back to the uninvited guests and put the pillow on top of his head. "Now go away!"

The elder of the Hart brothers nervously scratched the back of his head while somehow restraining the Fighting type from pushing Ethan out of the bed with his free hand.

"Gee, bro, show a little enthusiasm! Don't you want to have a Pokémon of your own? Travel around the world, win badges and stuff? Or maybe be a coordinator or a Pokéathlete or… something… err, nice?" Jimmy finished with a hopeful look and turned around the nearby chair, plopping down on it a second later.

"No, I don't want to," came Ethan's muffled response from beneath the pillow. "I've told you already, that's just too much hassle and stuff. I'm fine as it is. Besides, how can a Pokémon be my _own_ very _first_? Jimmy, if you haven't noticed yet, we've lived in a house crammed full of Pokémon since we were born."

"It's not the same, y'know," grumbled back the elder brother with irritation at his sibling's usual antics. "You know what, Ethan?" suddenly exclaimed Jimmy with his usual hot-blooded fervor that seemingly always spelled disaster for the younger Hart. "Like it or not, I'm taking you over to Professor Elm's to show you what it really feels like!"

"You're wh-AAAAT? Let go of me!"

Alas, Ethan's shouts were in vain as the stronger boy grabbed him by the wrist and literally dragged his little brother out of the bed and down the stairs, Tyrogue in tow.

"Gotta go, Mom, we don't want Ethan to be late to get his starter!" blurted Jimmy in a single breath as the duo zipped past the kitchen and through the front door, into the large Pokémon-filled front yard. The representatives of various species waved and greeted the Hart brothers in their language and their cheerful cries drowned out a little Ethan's angry protests, even if just for a little bit.

One very confused girl with a large puffy white hat and brown pigtails nearly fell on her bottom as a strange bickering duo, one a fully dressed teen, the other- a younger boy still in his pajamas, blitzed past her and left nothing but a cloud of dust in their wake. A cheerful Tyrogue followed soon after.

"Sup, Professor?" greeted somewhat loudly Jimmy as he skidded to a halt inside the sun-filled lab of the resident Pokémon expert. "We're here to finally get my bro a starter!"

Alas, despite the power of the decibels- that was _very_ strong in that one trainer, the Professor just kept on scribbling notes and inspecting something under the microscope, humming the tune of one of DJ Mary's songs all the while.

"Uhm, Professor Elm? Over here!" said Jimmy and let out a sigh, slumping shoulders at Elm's usual behavior. Tyrogue scratched his head in confusion and looked quizzically at the strange middle-aged man in the labcoat. Ethan just kept fighting for the tiniest of breaths, his lungs on the verge of exploding after having been through the maddest dash in their live.

Elm just changed the tune of the song, like some strange human radio, and cheerfully jotted down yet another note. A vein popped on Jimmy's head.

"PROFESSOR!"

"FIVE MORE MINUTES, DEAR! I PROMISE I'LL TAKE OUT THE TRASH THIS TIME!"

Even in Ethan's condition, he couldn't help but be impressed by the speed with which the grown man jolted up from the chair and turned around, taking far less time than it was need to blink. However, Elm's speed proved to be his undoing and the widely-respected researcher ended up slipping on the pristine white floor tiles and hitting his head on the edge of the desk. The scientist's glasses ended up skidding to a halt in the far end of the room.

"Gee, Professor, relax," said Jimmy in a sheepish attempt to calm Elm down, feeling kind of guilty for causing the man to risk damaging that precious knowledge-filled mind of his. "It's just us."

"Oh…" mumbled in response Elm as he slowly got back on his wobbling legs and waved his hands around in search of the glasses. "Are you here to get a starter Pokémon then?"

"Well, duh," cheerfully replied Jimmy as if it was the most natural thing in the world to barge into a scientist's house at 7:30 in the morning and demand to receive a rare Pokémon.

"So are you a boy or are you a girl?" asked the researcher as he changed his searching procedure and decided to try and crawl around the floor.

"Again, duh, I'm a boy," replied with a sigh the teen and seeing that his brother was in no shape to waste precious air, added "Oh, and he's a boy, too."

"What're your names then, boys?"

"We're Jimmy and Ethan, Professor, we live in the same town and know each other, remember?" replied Jimmy with annoyance and dragged out the last word, already tired of his mentor's absent-mindedness. Said Professor still didn't seem to pay much attention to his 'guests'.

"Jimmy and Ethan?" suddenly exclaimed the Professor as if a light bulb had gone on inside his head. Jimmy's hopes went up… "What a coincidence, there are two boys with the same names living nearby. Funny thing, no?"

…And came down crashing. While on fire.

"Hilarious," somehow wheezed Ethan between deep breaths.

Finally, Tyrogue took pity on the strange man's predicament and pushed the pair of specs in his searching hands.

"Why, thank you," replied Elm and didn't waste any time to put them on and finally be able to see something more than blurry colorful spots. The first thing the scientist saw was the smiling Fighting type in front of him who waved a cheerful greeting. "HOLY SMOKES, A TALKING POKEMON!"

"Err, no Professor, it's just us," corrected him Jimmy and pointed to himself and his little brother.

Suffice to say, the picture of Jimmy, in his red long-sleeved top, yellow shorts and cap of the same color turned backwards, as if the teen wanted to show off his unruly fringe even more, wasn't an unusual one for the middle-aged man's eyes. Ethan, however, still in his crumpled and dusty yellow pajamas, with unmanageable black hair mirroring his brother's and sprawled, gasping for air, on the floor of the lab certainly wasn't something Elm saw every day. Or thought he'd ever see. As a family friend, the Pokémon expert knew well enough that the younger of the Hart brothers had taken the decision not to follow in his brother's footsteps and train Pokémon.

"Strange, I thought you didn't want to be a trainer, Ethan," questioned the man but seeing that no answer came from the gasping boy, just shrugged. "Well, I guess you've just changed your mind. Seeing how you've come here in such hurry and all that. The starters are over… there?"

All blood drained from Elm's face as his eyes came upon the three opened, and positively empty, poke balls behind the protective glass casing of the nearby machine.

"I swear, it's the same every year," whispered Jimmy to his brother and buried his face in his palms to suppress the laughter.

"I remember now!" nearly shrieked the distressed Pokémon expert. "I let them out to play in the backyard because I'm expecting two trainers today and those three were going to be separated and I wanted them to be together and not sealed off and and and… AARGGHH! Not again!"

"Well, they sure aren't in the back yard now," pointed out the elder Hart after taking a quick look through the window. Seeing that Elm was on the verge of crying, Jimmy quickly added "Relax, Professor, it's not like something happened all the other times you lost a starter trio in a crucial moment."

"I have to be the most irresponsible man in the whole world! The new trainers will be here by noon!" said with a heavy sigh Elm and crashed down on his chair, hands buried inside his gradually thinning auburn hair.

"I said relax, didn't I?" said Jimmy and gave the scientist a thumbs-up. "The little buggers can't be far away. I'm sure Ethan here will track them all down!"

"I'm still in my pajamas, moron!" grumbled the younger Hart from his place on the cold floor. "Why don't you do it?"

"One of 'em's gonna be your starter, bro, not mine," replied Jimmy with a nonchalant shrug and patted his sibling on the back, the force making Ethan's still weakened knees buckle just as he was getting up. "Besides, Tyrogue and I are gonna go have some breakfast know. See ya back at home with a starter of your own," quipped the teen and waved goodbye, Tyrogue following in tow. "Heh, that kinda rhymed. Home… own. Man, I'm good."

"I. Hate. You!" was the response of the boy still lying face-first on the white floor tiles.

"Well, Ethan… we, errr," dragged out the Pokémon researcher and threw a hopeful look at the only Hart left in the room. "You're the same age as Joey so some of his clothes should fit you. Then you can go out and find the starters, right? Right?"

A beat passed before Ethan obliged to answer.

"I hate my life."

The sun lazily rolled around the morning sky. Sol's gentle sun-beams shined brightly to signal the rebirth of nature and the hundreds of wild flowers and trees around New Bark Town bathed in them, thankful for finally being able to sprout freely without fear of winter's freezing breaths. As usual in spring, the cherry trees were in full bloom and the old, unpaved paths crisscrossing the windy hills surrounding the settlement were drowned in soaring pink petals, carried over from one place to another by the mighty gusts which set in motion the dozens of wind generators around the town.

Traversing one of said paths, namely the one that led towards the small nearby pond, was a grumbling ten-year-old, dressed in a pair of blue shorts and a yellow T-shirt that somehow looked a tad too small for him. The sour individual didn't pay any attention to the wonders of nature around him, nor did he stop to admire the Pokémon running around and preparing for the true beginning of the year, when they could finally wander around in peace, without risking freezing or being blinded by the never-ending whiteness of the snow.

"Worst. Morning. Ow! Ever," groaned Ethan with annoyance as he forced his tired legs to take yet another painful step in the pair of shoes probably two sizes smaller than his. "The moment I get back, ouch, I'm telling Elm to stop working, ouch, so much and pay attention to the diet of that son of his! Ow!"

After several more painful meters, the young boy finally arrived at his destination. Albeit small, the resident lake had managed to collect all the melted snow that had come down from the mountains with the few tiny rivers that gathered their waters in it. The surface, encased in thick ice not that long ago, was now crystal clear and the cerulean waters acted as one giant mirror, reflecting the endless blue sky above them. Dozens of wild Pokémon were gathered around, drinking the fresh clean water with eagerness and only a scant few of them scurried away upon noticing the human boy coming nearby.

"Okay, this is it," sighed Ethan and sat down on a nearby rock that was perched above the still waters. The black-haired boy looked around but, alas, nothing of interest caught his hazel eyes. "Great! Just. Great. I've no idea where to look for them. My best bet was the Water starter being here. Just. My. Luck!"

The little rock the boy had just picked up ended up skipping across the lake's surface and ending its sudden journey dead-center, left to drown and stay seemingly forever beneath the cerulean waters. One by one the nearby Pokémon perked up and sniffed the still somewhat cool morning air, some of them hastily leaving and some of them appearing to be drawn to whatever they were sensing. Ethan blinked once, twice and then a third time for good measure, but no, he wasn't imagining. The thick mist that had suddenly appeared from the center of the lake was still there, spreading around and hiding everything it managed to crawl around from sight. The wind started acting strange as well, becoming far too cold to be the one that was the harbinger of spring. Instead, it somehow changed its direction completely.

It came from the north.

The shadowed silhouette of some kind of a Pokémon appeared behind the curtain of the strange fog. The creature seemed to be staring straight at Ethan and all the other Pokémon around didn't even dare move, as if mesmerized by the newcomer. The boy gulped, cursing his luck for angering whatever it was that lived in the lake with his little stone. Indeed, the Universe most certainly intended to give him one hell of a beating just to prove that the beginning of the awful day was just the warm-up of its sick cosmic jokes. Ethan squinted, but even with the fog, he was sure that he should have been able to recognize the newcomer. He had lived around Pokémon his whole life and he was a frequent guest at Elm's- the boy was sure that he could recognize nearly all native Johto Pokémon just by silhouette no problem.

But the closest thing that one reminded him of was a Persian, times bigger than normal and with a majorly oversized forehead coin. And he prayed he was wrong on this one because wild Persian certainly weren't famous for being playful little kittens.

A single pink petal, one of the millions that grew on the cherry trees surrounding the area, slowly landed atop the water's surface. Along with the lone ripple, one that would have been left completely unnoticed if not for the strange situation, came the mysterious creature's gentle cry. The sound that sounded like hundreds of crystals bells chiming together seemed to drive off the mist just as suddenly as it had appeared. Alas, before Ethan could get a better look at it, the mysterious creature faded from view as well.

All Ethan could do was just stare dumbstruck and blink rapidly with his widened eyes.

"Tototototo-DILE! Dile, dile dile!"

The boy's neck nearly snapped by the force he turned around with. Mere meters away, a small bipedal crocodile colored baby blue was trying to strike up a conversation with one severely un-amused Tentacool. The jellyfish Pokémon attempted to push the Totodile out of the water and back onshore but the cheerful and naïve Water type opted to snap his teeth-filled jaws around the greenish-brown tentacle.

Ethan somehow resisted the urge to slap his forehead and instead chose to hastily search for the Water starter's poke ball. Time was sparse, as the blue Poison type's eyes dilapidated and it shot its free tentacle at the unassuming fellow Water type.

"Totodile, return!"

The red beam barely reached the starter on time and the glowing purple appendage of the Tentacool ended up passing right though the dissipating form of its foe and straight into Ethan's forehead. While failing to spread any of its potent poison, the Tentacool did manage to leave a burning red spot dead-center on Ethan's forehead and knock the boy back to the base of the rock.

"I hate my life."

With a flash of white the cheery Water type popped out of the poke ball in the boy's hand and affectionately gnawed on Ethan's head.

"Oh, how I hate it so."

**TBC**


End file.
